Saturday, October 31, 2009

Who are the scariest dudes in rock and/or roll? The first one that popped into my head was Nick Cave. Not only does he look like the spawn of Dracula, but his music sometimes freaks me out too. According to our friends at Wikipedia, the Aussie and his band are, "renowned for its highly dark, challenging lyrics and violent sound." That's putting it nicely!

Roky Erickson has made a career of being all psychedelic and freaked out. Many of his songs were influenced by horror movies. He played in Toronto last week with my favorite Canadian band, The Sadies, and I am irritated that I missed it.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

There has been a lot of hoopla among Lucero fans such as myself over the new album 1372 Overton Park about Lucero's use of horns on much of the album. My first impression was that lead singer/songwriter Ben Nichols has been spending way too much time with Craig Finn and The Hold Steady, but after several listens the album has really grown on me and I would say its just about as good as anything that Lucero has done. It sounded even better at Lee's Palace in Toronto on Tuesday, October 20.

I was standing to the left of the stage, mostly out of the range of the asshole 19-year-olds who somewhere along the line decided that Lucero was a mosh band. Not that I didn't have to go home and shower and do laundry to clean all of the sprayed beer off of me. Seriously dudes, its a waste of alcohol. I mean, I know you saved your allowance for months to piss it away on spraying beer and everything, but you are angering people and keeping real fans away from the show. This only hurts the band in the long run. Hell, at one point Nichols even said, "Dudes, this ain't the Warped Tour." Here's a song for you punks - note the lyrics: "Its not the band I hate, its their fans." Now go to a Fucked Up show.

But ANYWAY, Lucero sounded fan-fucking-tastic. From where I was standing, the two saxes were slightly more muted than on the record, and, to me, it sounded like how 1372 Overton Parkshould have been mixed. The "horn section" was actually two dudes who switched between baritone, tenor, and alto saxophones.

And how bad-ass is bassist John C. Stubblefield, aka "John C." The dude was wearing a Merle Haggard T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. He was doing crowd safety when the shit-head punks got out of control. He handed out shots of whiskey to the purdy ladies in the crowd (apparently I'm ugly). And he lit up cigarettes in the smoke-free venue. The only other person I've seen do that is Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers.

Speaking of the DBT, this was another one of those shows where the dudes in the audience seriously outnumbered the chicks. During "Goodbye Again" there was some serious bro-mance going on. And damn, I thought some of them were going to start making out with each other during Nichols solo section, not that there is anything wrong with that. When taking requests Nichols mentioned that he was "partial to the slow, sad shit." And damn didn't he nail them. "Mom" from the new album was especially amazing.

Lucero played for two full hours. Nichols maybe took a 30 second break before bringing the band back out for an encore. Including the two opening acts, I saw over three and a half hours of music. I certainly got my $20 worth of entertainment. And at least $20 worth of beer sprayed on me.

Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm opened the show with a forty minute set of blues rock. I was highly entertained by these two fellows, and wow, can they make a lot of music for just two dudes. Burnside wailed on the drums while Malcolm cranked on the guitar. So good! Check these two out if you like hard rockin' blues.

Amy LaVere followed with a set of upright bass blues rock. While she didn't have the energy or the stage presence of Burnside and Malcolm (her drummer looked completely bored), she still put on a decent set. I actually liked their sound more when her guitarist sang lead.

Friday, October 23, 2009

No rest for the wicked, or weary, or something. Why are all of the bands that I want to see playing the same week?

Corb Lund has a new record out. I haven't heard it yet, but if its anything like his earlier releases its going to be good. He played last night and is playing again tonight at the Horseshoe. Yeee-Haw!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Roctober continues tonight and tomorrow night with Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle performing their new album Let's Just Stay Here at the Dakota Tavern. I haven't heard very much of this album yet, but what I have heard I have liked very much. The album has a cover of Justin Rutledge's "Too Sober to Sleep" which I am dying to hear. I really like both of these artists individually, and together they sound fantastic.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Rocktober got off to a kick-ass start with The Hold Steady (yeah, it was late September, but close enough), then the Avett Brothers, and now that I have had a few weeks to recover, I am totally ready to rock my ass off at the Lucero show tonight at Lee's Palace.

Their new album 1372 Overland Park came out in early October. I pre-ordered it, but it hasn't arrived yet. Anyone else in Canada have this problem?

Here's one of my favorites off of their previous release. Its a really mellow, melancholy song which I am pretty sure that they are not going to play tonight (prove me wrong?), but I fucking love this song.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Thank god I am too young to remember much of the 1970s, but whoever thought that a disco song to fire up an NFL team was a good idea was very, very mistaken.

I found this info on the San Diego Chargers 1979 fight song from Discomusic.com.

Written and produced in 1979 by Jerry Marcellino and David Sieff and performed by Captain Q.B. & The Big Boys (who?), "San Diego Super Chargers" hit the airwaves the same year the team went on to win the first of three consecutive AFC West titles behind the potent "Air Coryell" offense led by quarterback Dan Fouts, wide receivers Charlie Joiner and John Jefferson and tight end Kellen Winslow.

While in 1979 through 1981 the Chargers set a few total yardage marks, the squad never made it to the Super Bowl. The closest coach Don Coryell’s squad would come was a showdown against AFC West rival the Oakland Raiders in the 1980 AFC championship game. Although San Diego captured the division, the wild-card Raiders beat the Chargers in the AFC championship fracas 34-27.

"San Diego Super Chargers" is a grim reminder from an era of what-coulda-beens and if-onlys. What’s worse is it’s disco, and not even good disco to (platform) boot.

All I know is that Ladainian Tomlinson better get off his ass so my fantasy team can start getting some W's.

I can't remember where I found this mp3, but it cuts off at 1:26 so I suspect that it is actually a ring tone. However, if you make it all the way to 1:26 without turning it off, you are a stronger person than I am.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

This poster was posted by The Sadies on Facebook yesterday and my jaw hit the floor. If I was independently wealthy I would be on the next plane to Madrid. Holy mother of pearl, what a lineup! If any of my fine readers happen to be from Spain, and happen to attend one of these shows, I will post your review on my blog, even if it is in Spanish. Or, even better, if you want to fly me to Madrid to attend this show, please contact me at rockstaraimz at gmail dot com. ¡Increíble!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Sweet drawing, eh? Its the Nov-Dec 2001 cover of the now defunct roots music magazine No Depression, which is now a thriving on-line community of music enthusiasts. You can find all kinds of cool stuff in their archives. This edition of Jay Farrar Friday is all about the cover tracks. Let's get into the music, shall we?

Originally recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1975, this track is part of the bonus material on the reissue of Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne. Edit: a Swedish reader pointed out that Joe Ely plays guitar and sings lead on this track. I should have noted that in the first place. Thanks for the reminder! Yee-Haw!

This is more of a reworking than a cover, but I don't care because I love this track. Farrar teams with Anders Parker to reconfigure a bunch of folks songs under the moniker Gob Iron. This track is originally by Reverand J.M. Gates, who probably first wrote this song in the mid-1920s.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I was perusing the New York Times today at lunch and I came across an article about country music legend Ralph Stanley. Stanley is best known as a bluegrass artist, or as he calls it, "that old-time mountain music." He is 82-years young and still plays over 100 gigs a year. The NYT article previewed his autobiography, which goes on sale Thursday, October 15. Someone want to get their favorite blogger an early Christmas present???

Although he is mostly known for his unique banjo playing style, Stanley won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2002 for his a capella rendition of "O Death" from the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

I've been sick as fuck for the last week and haven't had the energy to get out of bed, much less to blog. If anyone has a good sore throat/dry cough remedy, I'm all ears. I'm sort of on the mend now, just in time for the long weekend here in Canada.

Yes, its that wild and wacky holiday, Canadian Thanksgiving. Poster DeadManSaloon from Newfoundland (one of my favorite places) posted this tidbit on the AltCountryTab.ca forums about Thanksgiving in the Great White North.

Hey, who wants some pretty much useless information!?

Thanksgiving in Canada used to be celebrated in November, but after WWI, Armistice Day was, of course, placed on November 11th, and the two dates were celebrated at pretty much the same time (one on Sunday, the other on Monday, I think). However, due to the the joyousness related to Thanksgiving, and the reflection with Armistice Day, they were eventually split up and Thanksgiving, like the weird, step-child, holiday it is in Canada, was thrown back to October (and Armistice Day became Remembrance Day).

I'm taking a Newfoundland Folklore class at uni this term, and picked up this tidbit yesterday, along with the knowledge that one of the origins of Thanksgiving in Canada is American refugees (who were still loyal to the English) who came up here after the Revolution. You imperialist assholes (I kid, I love you guys!). There were some First Nations from what is now Canada that picked it up from the Europeans too, probably right before they were killed.

I don't have a "The More You Know" image, sorry.

Its always a weird holiday for me. Its on a Monday, there is no football (see note below), and there is no shopping. I have no plans to eat lots of turkey and pie, and tomorrow I plan on going to work to try to catch up from being sick last weekend. Either that or watch an eight hour marathon of The Office on cable (in Toronto on Rogers cable channel 90, 11 am - 7 pm).

I am very thankful for Canadian musicians. Here are three of my favorites:

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Avett Brothers played a sold out Horseshoe Tavern on Wednesday, September 30, the day after the official release of their new album I and Love and You. I couldn't believe how packed the 'Shoe was! When they toured Toronto in support of their 2007 release Emotionalism, there were maybe 60 people in the audience.

The Avett Brothers are some talented dudes. Brothers Scott and Seth Avett alternated on lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, and keyboards, while Scott also played drums and banjo. Bob Crawford rounds out the trio on upright and electric bass, and Joe Kwon played rock cello on a few tracks. I greatly enjoyed the rock cello.

The knowledgeable crowd, which was heavy on the "dudes with beards and glasses" side, sang along to the older songs, and danced to the newer tunes. Scott and Seth were working their asses off. During "The Perfect Space" Scott was literally running between the drum set and the keyboards.

Most of the Avett Brothers music can be described as bordering on alt country or folk, with a hint of bluegrass and garage rock. I and Love and You is very similar to Emotionalism, with clever, catchy lyrics and beautiful harmonies. I and Love and You is the Avett Brothers first major label release, produced by Rick Rubin for American Recordings, a subsidiary of Sony Music. It is more polished than Emotionalism, and doesn't have near enough banjo for my liking, but it is overall a solid album.

The only song I really did not like at the show, and this also goes for the album, was "Slight Figure of Speech." It sounds like some 60s go-go song with some bad garage rock and a rapping/screaming part that sounded brutal live. The Avett brothers did an excellent garage rock song with their closer "Gimmeakiss," but "Slight Figure of Speech" hurt my ears. The only other song on the new album that I don't like is "Kick Drum Heart" because it sounds like something I wrote on my Casio keyboard circa 1987.

After the encore the audience coaxed the boys back out by singing the "La La La La La La" part of "Go to Sleep." The audience participation here was pretty amazing. In fact, it was almost as if there were two completely different audiences at this show. One that was obviously huge fans of the music, and one that was there just because they had nothing better to do.

I unfortunately got stuck in the latter half of this group towards the back of the venue. I have never seen so many dudes checking their Blackberries/iPhones at a concert before! One guy was checking his Crackberry every two to three minutes. It was so distracting that I had to move. Another guy checked and commented on his fantasy baseball team during the show! Why do people pay to see a band, and then spend the night on their iPhones? It was driving me crazy.

The show was sold out to the point of making me claustrophobic. And of course this 5'5" reviewer got stuck behind the guys who are 5'10" or taller. Some of these guys were just at the show to drink and talk to their buddies. There was lots and lots of jabbering between songs and during the lesser-known tunes, and some of the guys were being real assholes. Finally, some nice dude from Calgary let me stand in front of him so I could sort of see the stage. Thank you!

When you see a sports event and the official blows a major call that effects the outcome of the game, what do you remember more? The excellent athletics, or the blown call? I felt this way after I left the Avett Brothers show. Yeah, they are excellent musicians who put on a great show, but the annoying people that I was stuck standing with ruined it for me.

Set List1. Laundry Room - I and Love and You (2009)2. Paranoia in B-flat Major - Emotionalism (2007)3. At the Beach - Mignonette (2004)4. Shame - Emotionalism5. Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise - I and Love and You6. Die Die Die - Emotionalism7. Salina - Emotionalism8. I and Love and You - I and Love and You9. Colorshow - Four Thieves Gone (2006)10. Murder in the City - The Second Gleam (2008)11. The Perfect Space - I and Love and You12. Distraction #74 - Four Thieves Gone13. January Wedding - I and Love and You14. Slight Figure of Speech - I and Love and You

One more thing: when I bought the I and Love and You CD at the show (for $15 CND - cheaper than Starbucks!) the merch guy told me that Scott painted the cover art, and also painted the portraits in the interior album cover (all oil on canvas). So not only is Scott Avett one hell of a musician, he is also quite a talented visual artist!

About This Blog

About MP3 Files

Music and commentary posted on this site is purely for educational purposes. Links to MP3s will be active for a few weeks or so. If you like what you hear, don't be cheap, buy it (accompanying links are to Amazon.com, unless noted). Nowadays, most indie artists make their living by touring, so go out and see these artists live, buy their merch, get them to sign your CD, and buy them a beer after the show.

If you own the copyright to music on this blog and would like the music removed, please contact me directly and I will remove the link immediately. E-mail: RockstarAimz at gmail dot com

I get dozens of requests a week for album reviews, and honestly, given that I have an intense day job and that I'm pretty lazy in my free time, I'm probably not going to review your album. Especially if you have "remix," "electro," or "sounds like Radiohead" anywhere in your PR e-mail. Also, I'm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, so I cannot attend your CD release party in Williamsburg, Hollywood, or Denton. But if you kiss my ass a little bit, I may take your album under consideration. Read this essay: Getting Heard by Music Blogs

"It's good to sell records, but the truth is, I make more money off t-shirts. If you rip it, burn it, give it to somebody, and they come to a show and buy a ticket and a t-shirt, I profit more that way anyway, and then I've got a fan." - Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers